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Postcards
Orpheus has confirmed (after we solved a puzzle to tell us the number) that 13 postcards were sent out. Please post images of the postcards you received here. As Orpheus has said, "it's up to you, all of you. Now it's time to join the others". The postcards are meant to fit together, like a jigsaw puzzle. (For example, Erginus' and Calais' cards revealed a set of runes when placed alongside each other top-to-bottom--see below.) If possible, please include a scan of both the front and the back of the postcard...but please cover over your address (or use a paint program to remove it from the scan). theclaw figured out on June 21 that since all the postcards reported to that date had the numbers 21 and 22 written on them, and since we'd figured out that they represented the letters U and V, all the postcards might have something written on them in UV-sensitive ink. As seen below, those of us who have been able to test this have found this to be the case. If you are able to test your postcard with a UV light (a "black light"), please do so and report the results (include pictures, too, if possible!). On June 21, springing off amandel's comment about an "r" on her postcard (see below), Stæld suggested, "could the times written on the postcards (19:55:18 in this case) be positions, rather than times?" theclaw first had the idea on June 24 of using the astrological notations on the postcards to create a birth chart, but we didn't have someone with the required knowledge to follow up on this idea at the time. Idmon's (dreamerblue's) postcard Received June 21, 2010. Cortez figured out that the line about the government man is from David Bowie's "Time Will Crawl." The missing word is "moon," which helped him figure out the astrological chart. Of Barrow, Cortez suggested, "John D. Barrow was a theoretical physicist who studied with a David Deutsch, whose 1997 book 'The Fabric of Reality' makes a lot of reference to Alan Turing - a Bletchley Park link, but I may just be clutching at straws." Euphemus' (theclaw's) Postcard Received 19th June, 2010. "In the box, In the green, In the centre..." Answer is Jack, I think, also linking with the front picture. :Jack-in-the-box (toy), :Jack in the Green (May Day figure; English tradition to do with Morris dancers; character used by Neil Gaiman; also by Kit Williams in the book Masquerade, referenced in previous game; Tom Cruise character in Legend), :Jack in the centre (unsure of this; maybe joker card? Tarot reference? Jack aka Knave aka Fool, 0 in Tarot deck?). UV text is WORD on the right (missing upper half), and SLEEP (Missing lower half) could be a misinterpretation. Astronomical sign is Earth. From http://www.universetoday.com/14512/the-symbol-for-planet-earth/ this link, Stæld quotes (and emphasizes): :"This same symbol in England is known as the Sovereign's Orb and represents the State and Church of England under the security of the crown. :The symbol for Earth is also known as Odin's Cross or the Solar Cross, and may be one of the most ancient symbols used the world over. It is used in Norse Mythology to represent Odin, the main god of the Norse Pantheon." theclaw (Sarah) worked out that the series of dashes drawn around the symbol for Earth was not by the PM, but actually the logo for the postcard printer, Judges Postcards (see their website at http://www.judges.co.uk/ ). Claire Vanessa Atalanta's Postcard Received 21st June 2010. Royal Observatory Greenwich courtyard featuring the Times Millenium sculpture and the prime meridian line. Astronomical sign is Cancer. Some of the numbers are a cesar cipher spelling FULFILL. Unsure as to others. All other postcards are signed 'O', bar this one which is signed Orpheus Palamonius' (sirpoins') Postcard Received 24the June, 2010. Flamsteed House, oldest part of the Royal Observatory Greenwich, designed by Sir Christopher Wren. Back of card features numbers 01:07:23 and Astrological sign of Scorpio. Unidentified lower half runes that don't look like Ogham, and more like Futhark top left. "five go-old ... and a (quaver note) Catullus celebrates the best of days!" Wikipedia link to Catullus sirpoins worked out, :The Catullus part may be from 14 - "Saturnalibus, optimo dierum!" :translates as "the Saturnalia, the best of days!" :http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/The_Poetry_of_Gaius_Valerius_Catullus/14 From theclaw: :I think the futhark reads "island" :First letter lower half, could be Z,W,N,A,L,I,F :Second letter most likely to be S :Third letter, again just half of a vertical line, same choice as letter one. :Forth letter vertical with diagonal line, could be R or A :Fifth letter most likely to be N :Fifth letter matches D :One crossword helper site later(*S**ND) :No joy with Ogham. Erginus' (amandel's) Postcard Received 21st June, 2010. 1) Leftside: A couplet from "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" which poet Robert Southey critiqued as "a Dutch attempt at German sublimity," 2) Middle below: 21|22 3) Leftside bottom: a thick line of Ogham Runic letters 4) Rightside top: Leo symbol (July) 19:55:18 r Front is frontside The Royal Observatory. Regarding the "r," amandel quoted, "On some charts, and in the ephemeris (an almanac of the daily planetary positions), planets which are in retrograde are denoted by a tiny R after the degree and minute designation. SOURCE" Note that of all the postcards whose images have been posted, the stamp used on this one stands out. Under a black light, amadel found that the letters "he" in "The Royal" etc. were highlighted. The bottom of this postcard matched up with the top of celendis'--see the next section. Calais' (celendis') postcard Received June 24, 2010. Notable features: Combined with the bottom of Erginus' postcard, the Ogham script at the top of this postcard can be read as "THOOR BALLELEE". In the upper right corner: ♏ 21:10:27 A UV-flourescing section that appears to half of two Furthark runes (right). "Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure." Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863. Certain letters in the description and copyright are highlighted in UV-flourescing ink, indicated as underlines below: :::::: The Royal Observatory, Greenwich. The Prime Meridian longitude 0° and Airy'd Transit Circle shown at night. :::::: ©National Maritime Museam, London, 2005 visit our online show www.nmm.ac.uk The underlined letters spell "Oborot." Putting this postcard together with amandel's, Dagada found that runes could be read spelling THOOR BALLELEE. Dagada reported, :"This is an alternative spelling of Thoor Ballylee - a castle in Ireland. :http://www.gortonline.com/TouristGuide/PlacesofInterest/ThoorBallylee/Thoor+Ballylee.htm :This pace is most famous as being the home to William Butler Yeats. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Butler_Yeats :Yeats was an interesting character, full of ideals and mysterious knowledge. I'm not sure if it's his political, poetic or esoteric leanings we should be looking into yet." Castor's (Stæld's) postcard Date received unknown; between 2010-06-23 and 2010-07-10. Possibly on the 23rd or right after. RIP Joha(n?) Cardui. #1. ∞ Astrological text: ♓ 14:21:19 ♓ is for the Pisces/Fish. UV at the bottom looks like "BIM", with half of the M cut, or possibly "BID" with a weakly painted D. Could also be an N. UV to the right seems to read IS, given the rotation of the text is 90 degrees cw. Medea's (dawndilion's) postcard this is what my postcard says: Deep in the heart of Cupid Murder on the heels of love STOP THE FIFTEEN DAYS OF DARKNESS 21/22 There are also rune-looking things on the lower left corner. The postcard itself is of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich Edit: Upon closer inspection, by the postage stamp there are two squiggly lines like: ~ ~ with the numbers 11:22:32 Cortez figured out on Aug. 10 that the quote is from David Bowie's "87 and Cry." Admetus' (Telos954's / James') postcard It says "In sleep a King but waking no such matter..." then "STOP THE FIFTEEN DAYS OF DARKNESS", 21/22 It was addressed to Admetus, and on top it had hex code (impartial string I'm guessing.) - 6c 72 20 gf 6c 67 on the upper right hand sice, there was a diagonal arrow pointing to the corner of the stamp with "08:49" next to it. There were some numbers half shown, but half covered by the stamp. I lifted the edges carefully, but it just seems to be the barcode for where they scan it to ring it up at a gift shop. On the bottom left hand side, it gives information about the photo "Royal Observatory, Greenwich courtyard depicting the Times Millennium Sculpture and the Prime Meridian Line" On the bottom right, it gives information about the copyright, concept and design of the card. There's a blue airmair sticker "BY AIR MAIL par avion Royal Mail". I peeled that back, but found nothing under it. Cortez worked out on Aug. 10 that the quote is from Sonnet 87. Ascalaphus' (Dagada's) Postcard It's an image of an office workplace in Bletchley Park. I've got the same 21/22 as everyone else, this time written on either sides of the line that divides the writing section from the address. Written on the card is: "...Like a diaMOnd in the sky... STOP THE FIFTEEN DAYS OF DARKNESS. O." In the bottom left corner is the astrological symbol for Capricorn followed by 8:07 EDIT! The MO isn't MO at all. It's MC, cunningly disguised. Folks, pay careful attention to the way letters are written!! "Like a diaMOnd in the sky..." - twinkle twinkle little star. Is this a reference to the Sun? Dagada eventually figured out that the MC stood for Medium Coeli - the midheaven in astrology. Note: the pencil marks on this postcard were added by Dagada, not the PM. sowasred2012's Postcard sowasred2012 reported: :"the postcard I got has what I believe is the Enigma machine on the front of it. The written side then has this, handwritten (I'll get a photo when I can dig my camera out of my stuff): ::Quote: ::'With the straight ruler i set to work to inscribe, A square within this ciricle. STOP THE FIFTEEN DAYS OF DARKNESS. O.' :There are a couple of markings too, in the bottom left is what looks like a capital T, but with the horizantal line kinda bowed in the middle, so it looks like a crude palm-tree line drawing, and the number/time 20:05 beside it. :Then, there's a line dividing the back of the postcard (to signify where to write the message, and where to write the address), and at the top of this line are two numbers on each side of it - 21 on the left, and 22 on the right." When it became obvious that an astrological symbol appeared on each postcard, sowasred2012 realized that the "crude palm-tree line drawing" was the symbol for Aries. From amandel: :"Squaring the circle is one of the three classical problems in Greek mathematics and a trendy topic at that time. ::Aristophanes in his comedy The Birds wrote: ::(Character)METON With the straight ruler I set to work to inscribe a square within this circle; in its centre will be the market-place, into which all the straight streets will lead, converging to this centre like a star, which, although only orbicular, sends forth its rays in a straight line from all sides. :Reckon the connex is that Meton of Athens was "one of the first Greek astronomers to make accurate astronomical observations. It is widely believed that, working with Euctemon, he observed the summer solstice on June 27, 432 BCE". LINK"